A detailed guide to the archaeological sites of the Nile Valley and desert areas of Egypt

el-Lisht Necropolis

The pyramids at Lisht are surrounded by the remains of numerous large mastaba tombs of high officials of the royal courts.

On the south-west corner of Amenemhet’s pyramid enclosure is the large mastaba of the Vizier Antefoker, who also had an earlier tomb in Thebes (TT60). In his Theban tomb he is named as ‘Governor of the Town and Vizier’. A stela from his Lisht tomb relating to his Nubian campaigns was found during Czech excavations in the 1960s.

To the south of Amenemhet’s pyramid are tombs dating to the Old Kingdom. Further south on the edge of the cultivation there is also a Graeco-Roman cemetery, near the modern village of el-Lisht.

Senwosret I also had many private mastabas associated with his pyramid complex. Among the most important is the mastaba of Senwosret-ankh, ‘High Priest of Ptah’, located about 200m to the north-east of the enclosure wall. Senwosret-ankh whose well preserved decoration in the burial chamber included painted reliefs with extracts from the Pyramid Texts. His burial chamber also contained a beautifully decorated sarcophagus.

The mastaba of the Vizier Mentuhotep, ‘High Priest of Heliopolis’ is another impressive tomb close to Senwosret’s complex, as was the mastaba of Imhotep, another ‘High Priest of Heliopolis’.

The area surrounding Senwosret’s outer enclosure contains many other structures of archaeological interest, including priests’ dwellings, and buildings such as granaries connected with the construction and maintenance of the mortuary complex. Many small objects have been found in this area. A mudbrick boat pit has also been found outside the pyramid perimeter wall.

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